Online travel tech company Kayak has added two new tools to its app, Hotel for Tonight and Explore, in response for increasing consumer demand for last minute hotel bookings.

Research by the firm has shown that 50 per cent of hotel bookings made on its app are booked within 48 hours of the hotel stay, compared to just 15 per cent of bookings made on tablet devices globally.

This change in consumer activity has led to Kayak expanding their app with a new functionality called Hotel for Tonight which shows hotels in immediate proximity of the user, filtering them by star rating and reviews by other travellers so only quality accommodation is shown. The booking page is simplified, with pictures, prices, amenities and location all on a single page.

The Explore feature, also being added to the app, shows an overview of the cheapest flights on a map of the world, with a filter than can limit or extend results based on the users budget. Both functions have already been added to the Android version of the app, and will be rolling out to the iOS app in March.

“In todays fast-paced world, we are increasingly seeing Brits are no longer pre-planning trips and are leaving hotel booking to the last minute,” said Loella Pehrsson, regional managing director for the UK, Ireland and the Nordics at Kayak. “While more and more of us are booking flights, car rentals and hotels on our smartphones, we are also wanting much more from an app than a place to book a holiday: we want a travel companion.

“As a result, our app now supports the user in every facet of their journey: from price comparisons and flight, hotel and rental car bookings, to mobile travel plans, real-time information about the flight status, airport maps and taxi assistants.”